How To and Guides
Clean Installing Windows 10
Killer Network Drivers
Running Memtest86+
HWiNFO - Full Guide
How to Describe a Technical Problem
DISM and SFC
Reading HWiNFO logs
Cleaning a Computer
Making a System Dossier
Making Windows installation media in Linux Clean Installing Windows 10
1. Create a bootable USB flash drive using the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft. This will
also wipe any data stored on the USB flash drive.
It is best to disconnect all storage disks except from the main (C Drive) disk
“from the computer before installing Windows 10.
2. Boot into your USB that has the Windows 10 Media on it.
You can do this by entering your systems' BIOS and change the BIOS boot order to
have USB media as the first priority (this can usually be found under the boot tab),
or simply look for the words "boot menu" when you see your BIOS boot screen,
press the corresponding function key and choose the USB flash drive to boot from it.
3. Follow the steps on screen to install Windows 10.
4. Click Install now 5. Continue on until you hit the license key screen. Here you can either enter your license
code or, if Windows has been installed to this computer before, click on the "I don't have
a product key" link. 6. Continue on until you hit the “Which type of installation do you want?” screen. Click
"Custom". 7. Click on each partition of the target drive and select delete. Once all the partitions are
gone you will be left with unallocated space. At this point click next. 8. Windows will now install.
9. Once complete you will be facing the setup screen. Configure as you wish.
You have successfully installed Windows 10. Killer Network Drivers
Killer networking drivers and software are known to cause various issues. To troubleshoot follow these steps:
1. Download the universal drivers
2. Uninstall all Killer software such as the Killer Network Center
3. Install the universal drivers
4. Reboot Running Memtest86+
What is a Linux Live Session
Linux is a great OS that has a major advantage when it comes to troubleshooting, it can be run from a USB flashdrive in a 'live' state without installing to a hard disk. This allows you to use a wide range of tools to manipulate the disks, data, and hardware of your computer/OS without worrying about anything running on it.
Obtaining media r/Techsupport Rescue Media
A Linux ISO has been made for r/Techsupport that has memtest86+ included in the environment.
Download
Source files for Debian live-build
Official Memtest86+ V5.31b
You may also use the official Memtest86+ ISO.
Download
Or the install tool for Windows.
Download
Creating bootable media
This will require a USB that is at least the size of the ISO you downloaded. All methods of creating boot media are destructive and will WIPE the USB flasdrive or external disk.
Windows
1. Download and run Rufus
2. Select “ISO Image” and then browse for the ISO image.
3. Select which flash drive you want to put the installer on.
4. Select the target system type MBR/BIOS
Memtest can only be ran when booted as Legacy/MBR/BIOS
5. Click “Start” and wait for it to finish.
MacOS
1. Download and run Etcher
2. Select your downloaded ISO
3. Select your target drive
4. Click "Flash" and wait for it to finish.
Linux
1. Run lsblk to list all disks in your system, identify your flash drive by size. It will look
something like /dev/sd[letter]
Boot the live media
1. Press your 'Boot menu' key when you power on the machine to access your boot options.
You may need to go through BIOS and change boot priority if you cannot find or hit
the boot options key during boot.
2. Choose your USB
3. Once it boots select 'Try' or 'Live' Run Memtest86+
Both of these media need to be booted in Legacy/CSM mode. They will not work when loaded in UEFI mode rTechsupport Rescue Media
If you booted the rTechSupport Rescue Media then you will be able to choose Memtest86+ on the welcome screen.
Official Memtest86+ media
If you used the official Memtest86+ media, it will boot straight into the test.
Results
Let the test run for 8 passes, most likely over night, any errors means means you have a bad RAM stick or DIMM (RAM slot). If you see any errors early you can end the test there and start narrowing it down to which stick/slot.
If you have a failure then test each stick individually, and in different slots to isolate the failure to a stick or slot. HWiNFO - Full Guide
To start troubleshooting using HWiNFO, follow this guide. It will walk you though how to setup logging and stress testing.
All 3 programs are required for this test. None are optional.
1. Download HWiNFO from here
All versions will work the same. You won't have to install the portable version.
2. Download Prime95 from here (64-bit) or here (32-bit)
If you are using chrome, you may need to copy-paste these links into a new tab.
3. Download Furmark from here
4. Start HWiNFO and launch it in sensors only mode
If you get a warning about an emedded EC sensor, just click "Do not monitor"
5. In the sensors only mode window, go to settings and set the global polling frequency to
250 ms and press ok.
6. Start the logging process by clicking the green + with the paper icon and save a csv file
to a location. 7. Next, just as soon as you started logging with HWiNFO launch Prime95. 8. Start the "Blend" test.
9. It will look like this when running.
10. After you get prime95 running, install and launch furmark. In the first menu, change the
resolution to match your monitor. If you don't see your resolution listed, you can use custom resolution.
11. Read the warning and press "GO!"
12. Leave furmark as the top window on your screen. All 3 programs need to be running for at least 10 minutes, or until your PC crashes. Start the timer after you get furmark running for the best results.
If you are getting help from the discord, you can just upload the .csv file directly to discord.
If you are getting help from the reddit, or the CSV file is too large for discord, upload the csv to https://www.mediafire.com/ How to Describe a Technical Problem
You are facing a technical problem and want to resolve it. That’s why you went on /r/techsupport in the first place.
If the AutoModerator redirected you here, that would mean your post may lack sufficient information techs need to know.
Follow the four steps shown here for a successful /r/techsupport post:
Step 1: Think About Your Problem
You may know what your problem is, but you need to think about it carefully. These questions will help you:
When does the problem occur? Does it only occur when you do certain things? Where does the problem occur? Is it a hardware or software problem? Does it occur only in one program? For how long has it been that way? Did it start after installing software or hardware? What has changed?
What have I already tried? Has it affected the problem positively or negatively, or not at all? What haven’t I tried? There is no such thing as “I’ve tried everything”. These questions might even help you solve your issue yourself. If not, include any relevant ones in your post.
Step 2: Gather Information
Gather general information about your system or device. These are extremely important for a tech to know. Not all details are relevant to your problem, but adding as much information to your post as you can doesn’t hurt: Operating System (Windows 10, Android, MacOS, which version is it?) Device (Smartphone,
Computer, Laptop, which model is it?) Application (one application? multiple? which version do you have?) Specs (System specs like RAM, CPU, GPU, etc, include even if you include the devicemodel)
Please refer to our System Dossier article for details.
Step 3: Choose a title
Your title should be descriptive. Here are some examples of really bad titles: “I have a problem”,
“help”, “I’ve been trying for hours and this problem is still here oh no I’m running out of characte”
Examples of good titles are: “Windows 10 shows ‘unable to boot from harddrive’ “, “Android has red icon on top left corner”, “Outlook doesn’t sync anymore”.
The title should be a tiny summary of your post. Just enough that a tech will know what it is roughly about.
Step 4: Conclusions
Read through our Wiki - here
After reading these articles, go ahead and start writing your post. It should include your problem
(with all the information from Step 1), your specs from Step 2, and what you have tried so far.
Understand that the techs are here because they like to help. And if you piss them off, they’re gone. None of the techs gets paid by anyone and they have no obligation to you. Please be nice to them and always answer all questions. These steps will make it easier for a tech to help you (and they are more willing to). Describe your problem precisely and you’ll get a good answer.
And if your post doesn’t get the attention you’d like it to have, do not repost immediately. Wait a day or so for that. DISM and SFC
All commands require an admin CMD or Powershell
Note: DISM should be used to repair the OS files before using SFC to repair the OS.
Using SFC
SFC is a basic command to check and repair minor OS corruption.
In CMD or Powershell run: sfc /scannow
Using DISM without a source
DISM is a larger command, that can do much more to repair broken parts of an OS.
In CMD or Powershell run:
1. To check for issues DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth 2. To check for deeper issues DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth 3. To resolve issues DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Using DISM with a source WIM (from an ISO)
DISM normally uses an Online source to repair your system, sometimes this leads to errors. You can use a Windows 10 ISO to get a 'clean' source locally. Download the ISO using the Windows media creation tool
Double click the downloaded ISO to mount it and note its drive letter in 'This PC' In CMD or Powershell run:
1. Repair issues with your local source DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:F:\Sources\install.wim
Using Indices
For Windows server you may need to look into using a specifc index of the WIM
1. Check a WIMs indices with
Powershell Get-WindowsImage -ImagePath F:\sources\install.wim
CMD dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:F:\sources\install.wim
2. Use the index to run a repair against your specific OS type DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:wim:F:\Sources\install.wim:1 Reading HWiNFO logs
1. Download Generic Log Viewer from here
2. Install and run the program, it will look like this:
Enable dark mode to avoid feeling like you are staring into the sun
3. Click "Open File" to select which csv file to analyse. 4. From the options, select HWiNFO
5. Once you have selected a file, it should look like this:
This is with dark mode enabled
6. Using the options in the top-left corner, select how many graphs to view at once.
Enabling simple mode means that icons are shrunk in order to provide more graph real estate
7. Using the drop-down menu, select what graphs to view.
8. Things to look out for:
PSU rails (take note that even if a psu is within tolerances, it can be real cranky. You should
generally see if the rails are with tolerances and should not be jittery)
CPU temps, loads, power consumption (use common sense here) GPU temps, loads and power consumption (use common sense here) Cleaning a Computer
Cleaning your computer is a very important task that should be done regularly to keep your computer in tip-top shape. Not maintaining the cleanliness of your computer internally and externally can result in a performance decrease or overheating.
Regularly cleaning your computer can improve performance and prolong the life of your computer.
Do's and Don't's
Your computer is delicate and requires you to be meticulous. Using the wrong solvents or using the wrong tools can end up in a damaged component.
Do
Use a pressurised air blower
Use a Microfiber cloth
Only clean parts that are relevante to cooling, such as fans, filters, and heatsinks
Be caucious and slow when cleaning
Don't
Use a vacuum cleaner
Use any cleaning solvents
Dismantle your computer to clean it. Taking the side panel off is fine
Aggressively clean your computer or attempt to remove every last piece of surface dust
Cleaning your computer First you'll want your computer to be completely off. You'll also want to be in an open area whereit is well ventilated (outside or garage is a good example). Then you'll want to tape down yourfans, ramping them up with the pressured air can damage them and can shorten their lifespan,don't apply a crazy amount, a peel of office tape is gentle enough and can hold down the fans.
When blowing pressured air in your computer you'll want to do it in short bursts (applies especially to pressurized canned air). If you're using a air compressor make sure that the PSI isn't too high.
Get as close as you can to the component without poking it. You'll also want to pay special attention to the heatsink fins as they can house dust.
Finally we can clean the fans. Using the microfiber cloth, we can gently wipe down the fins and get rid of residual dust.
Maintaining the cleanliness and efficacy of your computer
Making sure your computer is maintained well is determined by your environment. Placing your computer in the floor, smoking around your computer, or not keeping the area around your computer clean are contributing factors that will advance the maintenance period of your computer. Making a System Dossier
What is a system dossier?
A system dossier is a great way to provide needed information about your computer (hardware, software, and OS). While you could list it all by hand, some problems can require a lot of information, and it would be time-consuming to obtain it all manually. The more info you can provide about your computer the easier it is for someone to diagnose your issue, and the more accurate their advice will be.
General System Information
None of the tools here do everything, but oftentimes all of them don't need to be run.
Speccy
Speccy is a small tool made by Piriform that gets a bunch of info about your hardware, software, and OS, and allows convenient ways to save and share it. You can download it here.
After installing, let it analyze your system for a moment, then you can either save or publish your snapshot. These are under the file menu
Saving your snapshot will save a .speccy file. This will give a bit more information which
might be helpful, but some of this information may be sensitive. This also relies on the
person reading the file to also have Speccy.
Publishing your snapshot will provide you with a link to speccy.piriform.com. This link will
strip all information that may be sensitive and can be read without Speccy. These links will
eventually expire, so if your information gets too old you will have to publish another
snapshot. msinfo32 msinfo32 is built into Windows. It will provide some of the same information Speccy does. This is more focused on hardware and OS than installed software.
It is best if you run this tool with elevated privileges, but it won't force you to.
You can open the tool by typing msinfo32 into a command line, or you can open it using run
(Win+R).
When saving information from msinfo32, you can choose to save or export. Both of these provide all of the information seen.
Saving will create a .nfo file, which allows it to be opened in msinfo32 later. It can be read by
hand as well. It will be larger than export.
Exporting will create a .txt file, which is easiest to read without msinfo32. It cannot be
opened by msinfo32 at a later date dxdiag dxdiag is also built into Windows. It provides very basic information about your system but has a few things that nothing else provides.
It is best if you run this tool with elevated privileges, but it won't force you to.
You can open the tool by typing dxdiag into a command line, or you can open it using run
(Win+R).
There is only one way to save the information from dxdiag, which is the "Save All Information..." button. It will create a small .txt file.
Useful for crashes or blackscreens
These are not a replacement for general system information tools, these should only be an additional tool you use.
HWiNFO stress tests and logging
Link to separate guide
This provides a view of how your system runs under load. This is useful to determine hardware faults or overheating issues.
Dump files
Dump files are what Windows uses to save information before a crash. You might have dump files in C:\Windows\Minidump.
If you do, copy the folder to the desktop and create a zip file of it.
Power Supply
If you are using a desktop computer, getting the make and model of your power supply can help identify if that is the problem.
None of these tools can identify it, you have to look at your PSU if you don't know. Saying "500W
Gold" doesn't give any real information about your power supply.
Useful for networking issues
These are not a replacement for general system information tools, these should only be an additional tool you use. ipconfig ipconfig is a command-line tool built into Windows. This outputs information into the command line and you are responsible for saving it. You can use pastebin, or save it to a text file.
Running ipconfig /all will give information about network adapters and current network
connection status.
Running ipconfig /displaydns will give information about currently cached information ifconfig.me ifconfig.me is a site will which give information about your external network connection and status.
You can use the command line to get information using the curl commands. This outputs information into the command line and you are responsible for saving it. You can use pastebin, or save it to a text file. Running curl ifconfig.me/all will give give information out external connection status.
If you get the error Could not resolve host , just saying that is fine.
Other, single-task tools
These are not a replacement for general system information tools, these should only be an additional tool you use. winver winver is a tool built into Windows. It will give information about the Windows version, build, and skew.
You can open the tool by typing winver into a command line, or you can open it using run
(Win+R).
Taking a screenshot, or manually copying the relevant information is acceptable.
For version and build, you need the line: Version ____ (OS Build ___.___)
For skew, you need the line: The Windows ______operating system and... slmgr slmgr is a tool built into Windows. It will give information about the current license and licensing status.
You can open the tool by typing slmgr /dli into a command line, or you can open it using run
(Win+R).
Most of this information can be useful, it is recommended that you take a screenshot of the window that pops up.
Crystal disk info
Crystal disk info (CDI) is a tool for obtaining the smart status of all attached drives.
You can download it here. For saving information, edit -> copy then either save it to a text file or use pastebin Making Windows installation media in Linux
If you do not have a machine running windows available, but have a machine running linux instead, use this guide to create a Windows installation media flash drive.
Creating media using Ventoy
To make the media, you will require an usb drive of at least 8gb. If you are using our linux live session, you will require two usb drives. All commands are case-sensitive.
1. Open your web browser.
2. Go to the Microsofts windows 10 download page.
3. Select your Windows edition, your prefered OS language, click '64-bit download'.
4. Go to Ventoys github page and click on the '.tar.gz' file, wait for the downloads to finish.
5. Open terminal from your start menu, type in "lsblk", find your usbs directory by looking at
the size. In this case the usb drive is 16gb, labelled 'sda'. 6. Open a terminal instance from your start menu, type in "cd ~/downloads" followed by
"tar -zxvf ventoy-1.0.49-linux.tar.gz".
This name may vary with different versions, you may need to replace '1.0.49'
“with the current ventoy release
7. Type in "cd ./ventoy-1.0.49", after that type in "sudo ./Ventoy2Disk.sh /dev/sdX -i" This
will delete everything on the target drive. Type "y" if prompted with a warning.
Replace 'sdX' with your flash drives label. If your computer supports uefi, add
“the '-g' switch, if it has secure boot on also add the '-s' switch.
8. Once Ventoy is done installing, open a new terminal and run "lsblk" again, your usb
should now have two partitions on it. Ignore the 32Mb one, mark down the number of the
bigger one. In this case it is 'sda1'. Keep the terminal window open. 9. Type in these commands: "sudo mkdir /mnt/MyDevice" and "sudo mount /dev/sdXY
/mnt/MyDevice".
Replace 'sdXY' with the label of the aforementioned partition, in this case it is
“'sda1'
10. Type in "cd ~/Downloads" followed by "sudo mv ./Win10_21H1_English_x64.iso
/mnt/MyDevice".
The name of the windows file may vary with different versions, make sure the
“command has the same name as the downloaded iso file.
You can now boot to the newly created installation media and install windows.